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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Earlier this month, 42 companies took the stage at FinovateSpring in San Diego, showcasing their latest and greatest fintech solutions. Now, it’s your turn to experience the action. The demo videos from the event are live! So, whether you joined us in person or missed the event, you can now watch every presentation on demand, for free.
The best way to dive into the 42 videos, which total nearly five hours of content, is to watch the six Best of Show videos from the conference.
Thanks to all of the demo companies for making this a fantastic event! You won’t want to miss our next event, FinovateFall, which is taking place September 8 through 10 in New York. The earlier you register, the more you save.
As I write this, Finovate’s first fintech conference in San Diego has one more day of content left. But if the first two days of FinovateSpring 2025 are any indication, it’s already a good bet that we will be back.
From the California-based fintechs that made the short trip south to innovative startups that traveled from as far away as New Zealand, FinovateSpring 2025 featured a diverse and exciting range of fintech innovations designed to solve pain points for banks, credit unions, and financial services providers, as well as for their customers and members.
Whether leveraging AI to create efficiencies and automate workflows or putting embedded finance to work improving lending for small businesses, our demoing companies continue to represent the cutting edge of what’s new, what’s novel, and what works.
With this in mind, here are the winners of Best of Show for FinovateSpring 2025.
Bits of Stock for its solution that gathers deposits and drives non-interest income by helping financial institutions stay top of mind and top of wallet with the next generation of investors.
Finalytics.ai for its technology that enables financial institutions to instantly unleash the power of AI by offering digital experiences informed by behavioral, transactional, and third-party data.
Herd Security for its technology that gives financial organizations visibility and protection from voice fraud.
Illuma for its innovations in deepfake detection that enable community financial institutions to keep their members and customers connected with their funds in a convenient and secure manner.
Penny Finance for its solution that connects the dots between an FI’s products and services and a member’s needs, all while creating efficiency for their marketing organizations.
Solda.ai for its technology that enables businesses to better engage their customers with instant scalability.
Thanks to our demoing companies, our sponsors, speakers, and delegates for making our first fintech conference in San Diego such a success.
Next up on the Finovate tour is FinovateFall 2025, September 8-10, at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, New York. Find out more about the conference at our FinovateFall hub and we look forward to seeing you in “The City That Never Sleeps”.
Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The six companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from our 2015 through 2025 conferences are below:
Amplify Credit Union has partnered with Illuma to implement IllumaShield voice authentication, enhancing security and streamlining member verification.
IllumaShield’s passive audioprint technology verifies callers without security questions or special passphrases, leading to faster call center interactions and higher enrollment rates.
By automating identity verification, Amplify Credit Union expects to reduce call handle times, cut operational costs, and deliver a more seamless, trusted member experience.
Voice authentication solutions provider Illuma formed a strategic partnership with Amplify Credit Union this week. The Texas-based credit union selected Illuma for its IllumaShield caller authentication technology.
“Security and member experience are top priorities for Amplify Credit Union,” said Amplify Credit Union Chief Experience Officer Stacy Armijo. “Partnering with Illuma allows us to enhance both by implementing state-of-the-art voice authentication technology, ensuring that our members can access their accounts securely and effortlessly.”
IllumaShield helps banks and credit unions verify callers with its audioprint technology that continuously analyzes the unique characteristics of a caller’s voice and device using advanced signal processing, machine learning, and AI. This passive authentication eliminates the need for security questions or spoken pass phrases.
When a consumer calls into a call center using IllumaShield, they can complete enrollment simply by saying “yes” and continuing the conversation. The system does not require them to call into a specific line, wait on hold, or repeat a special phrase. As a result of the straightforward experience, Illuma reports that more than 95% of callers invited agree to enroll.
By automating the verification process, Amplify Credit Union can not only reduce call handle times but also lower operational costs associated with manual identity verification. At the same time, members benefit from a faster, frictionless experience that builds trust and loyalty.
Headquartered in Plano, Texas, and founded in 2016, Illuma specializes in voice authentication solutions for credit unions and community banks. Its flagship product, IllumaShield, is currently deployed at financial institutions across the U.S., helping streamline operations while strengthening fraud defenses.
Illuma is among the companies demoing their latest technologies at FinovateSpring 2025 on May 7 through 9 in San Diego. Check out more details or register today.
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateSpring in San Diego on May 7 – 9. Register today using this link and save 20%.
BankShift
BankShift’s new innovation is a low-code, patent-pending embedded banking platform that integrates financial services into non-financial apps, enhancing engagement, loyalty, and revenue opportunities.
Features
Seamless Integration: Embeds banking into apps with SDKs
Enhanced Security: Biometric authentication, KYC, and transfer lock
Credit unions, community banks, and regional banks.
Hive Technologies
Hive Technologies is a fintech solution that helps financial institutions serve low and moderate income consumers profitably in auto.
Features
Increases membership and customers by offering a differentiated auto finance product
Reduces net charge offs via improved payment performance from members
Improves the membership/customer experience
Who’s it for?
Financial institutions such as credit unions, banks, and OEM captives interested in serving more low and moderate income (LMI) consumers in auto.
Illuma
IllumaShield™ by Illuma streamlines caller verification with a frictionless voice biometrics authentication solution that protects against account takeovers.
Features
Improves account security and customer satisfaction
Reduces caller verification time by 85% or more
Deploys quickly with low lift from internal IT resources
Who’s it for?
Credit unions, community banks, regional banks, and insurance companies that need a state-of-the-art solution to prevent fraud in the contact center.
Layerup
Layerup builds Voice AI agents for financial institutions.
Features
Layerup’s Voice AI agents help automate inbound and outbound calls for financial institutions.
Who’s it for?
Banks and credit unions.
ReSight
ReSight takes raw data and generates periodic reports instantly – no manual work, just seamless automation with a click of a button.
Features
Delivers pixel perfect reporting from existing data
Removes the need for internal resources to manually create reports
Available on the cloud or self-hosted
Who’s it for?
Asset management firms, banks, credit unions, and financial software providers.
Illuma has secured strategic financing from Stifel Bank. The amount of the financing was undisclosed.
The funds add to the company’s $9 million Series A funding round it received in September of 2024.
Illuma plans to use the funds to accelerate product innovation, expand its market reach, and help financial institutions safeguard interactions.
Voice authentication solutions provider Illumareceived strategic financing from Stifel Bank. While the amount of the financing was not disclosed, it adds to the $9 million Series A funding the company received in September of 2024.
“Our tech and operations teams went through deep due diligence and have been highly impressed with the quality and simplicity of Illuma’s offerings, which address a critical gap for mid-market FIs,” said Senior Vice President of Venture Lending and Banking Stifel Bank Nick Elsenpeter. “We are excited to support their continued growth.”
Illuma will use today’s financing to help community banks and credit unions enhance security and streamline authentication processes across voice channels. More specifically, the funds will help the company accelerate product innovation, expand its market reach, and further support financial institutions in safeguarding consumer interactions.
“This strategic financing marks an exciting milestone for Illuma as we continue to scale and provide financial institutions with cutting-edge authentication solutions,” said Illuma CEO Milind Borkar. “The support from Stifel underscores the growing demand for frictionless security solutions that reduce operational costs while enhancing consumer trust. With this financing, we are well-positioned to expand our capabilities and further solidify our leadership in the market.”
Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Illuma offers a flagship product, Illuma Shield. The Illuma Shield authentication tool replaces traditional knowledge-based authentication (KBA) practices, such as asking security questions or prompting for PINs, with a real-time voice authentication solution. The low-friction solution not only enhances the caller experience, but it also improves operational efficiency for the financial institution while helping prevent fraud.
When a consumer calls into a call center using Illuma Shield, they can complete enrollment simply by saying “yes” and continuing the conversation. The system does not require them to call into a specific line, wait on hold, or repeat a special phrase. As a result of the straightforward experience, Illuma reports that more than 95% of callers invited agree to enroll.
As fraud continues to rise and the need for a seamless customer experience escalates, organizations can no longer afford to rely on outdated authentication methods that frustrate customers and leave security gaps. Traditional KBA techniques are increasingly vulnerable to social engineering attacks and data breaches. Voice authentication solutions like Illuma’s can help reduce fraud risk while enhancing operational efficiency, cutting down on call times, lowering authentication costs, and ultimately building consumer trust. As the industry moves toward more sophisticated identity verification methods, voice authentication solutions like Illuma’s will play a crucial role in the future of secure and efficient financial interactions.
Founded in 2016, Illuma recently won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2024 in New York for its deepfake detection technology. Check out the award-winning demo below.
Looking for some entertaining and insightful listening this holiday week? Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast have you covered!
This week the Finovate blog is sharing Greg’s conversations with seven of the eight Best of Show winning companies from FinovateFall 2024. From discussions about the growing importance of innovation in helping banks and other FIs meet ever-changing compliance requirements to the challenge of call-center security and defending against AI fraud, this latest round of interviews from the Finovate Podcast share insights and accomplishments from some of fintech’s finest.
“FinovateFall’s Best of Show winners come from different backgrounds and contain a wide range of solutions, but they all have one thing in common: they were able to capture the attention of our audience in a very competitive landscape,” podcast host Greg Palmer said. “Hear more of their stories and find out why they’re worthy of your attention too.”
Greg Palmer and Neepa Patel of Themis talk about compliance administration and how fintechs and financial services companies can avoid becoming a target for regulators. EP 238.
Greg Palmer interviews Rithwik Pattikonda of CardLift on payments via browser extensions. EP 237.
Podcast host Greg Palmer talks with Daniel and Joseph Ahn of Delfi on the dangers of balance sheet risk and its macroeconomic impact. EP 236.
Greg Palmer and Bancography’s Steven Reider discuss the importance of physical branches and making sure they are in the right places. EP 235.
Greg Palmer talks about call-center security and AI-based fraud with Illuma’s Milind Borkar. EP 234.
Credit Mountain’s Nathan Pinto talks about the “warm decline” and relationship-building with podcast host Greg Palmer. EP 233.
Greg Palmer and Eko’s Mart Vos discuss a new approach to bringing investing capabilities inside FIs. EP 232.
According to market intelligence platform Tracxn, funding for U.S.-based tech companies in Q3 of this year fell, both in comparison to the previous quarter as well as when compared to Q3 2023. Tracxn also reported that the number of tech unicorns actually increased this year compared to last year, with 13 new unicorns acknowledged in Q3 2024 compared to just five in Q3 2023. And while the report took this as a positive sign that “investor sentiment is stable,” there are other indications that the much-anticipated return to more robust funding trends for tech companies in general, and fintechs in particular, has yet to arrive.
Laura Bock, partner at QED Investors, was quoted in The Financial Brand back in January saying that “53% of fintechs will be cash out by Q3 2024 if they do not raise or exit.” We have a few more days before some of the research firms begin producing their Q3 reports on fintech funding, but clearly expectations are low.
Looking at our own Finovate alum funding for Q3 2024, we see plenty of evidence of the funding drought. In terms of the number of alums that reported receiving funding, as well as the amounts invested, Q3 alum funding for this year is as low as it has been in quite some time.
Previous quarterly comparisons
Q3 2023: More than $293 million raised by eight alums
Q3 2022: More than $1 billion raised by eight alums
Q3 2021: More than $1.1 billion raised by 14 alums
Q3 2020: More than $1.2 billion raised by 21 alums
Top equity investments
The top equity investment for Finovate alums in Q3 2024 was the $9 million raised by Illuma Labs. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, and founded in 2016, Illuma Labs debuted at FinovateSpring 2019 and has been a staple of our Spring and Fall conferences ever since. The company won Best of Show at FinovateFall in September for a demo of its Illuma Shield real-time voice authentication solution, now equipped with the latest deepfake detection technology to help prevent account takeover fraud.
Also noteworthy were the fundraisings from two brand-new alums: Dotfile, a regtech based in Paris, France, which debuted at FinovateEurope in February; and Scamnetic, an AI-powered anti-fraud solution provider that first appeared on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall in New York last month.
Here is our detailed alumni funding report for Q3 2024.
July 2024: An undisclosed amount raised by one alum
If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the third quarter of 2024 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at [email protected]. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.
Voice authentication technology innovator Illuma Labs has raised $9 million in funding. The Series A round was led by LiveOak Ventures and featured participation from Forefront Ventures, Curql Fund, UsNet, Capital Factory, Connexus, and TDECU.
As the first major investment for the company, the capital will help accelerate the development of Illuma’s voice verification offerings to help banks and other institutions fight fraud, voice cloning, deep fakes, and more. Illuma Labs also plans to leverage the funding to expand its reach to more credit unions and banks across the country.
“While we are excited about the capital infusion to accelerate our development of fraud prevention and deep fake detection tools, we are equally excited about bringing in new partners to fuel Illuma’s continued commercial growth,” Illuma Co-Founder and CEO Milind Borkar said. He praised both LiveOak Ventures and Forefront Ventures for their operational expertise and industry connections and thanked investors Curql Fund, UsNet, Capital Factory, Connexus, and TDECU for their “continued support.”
Illuma Labs offers banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions the ability to replace their traditional, knowledge-based authentication protocols with a secure, real-time voice authentication solution. The company’s flagship product, Illuma Shield, delivers effortless authentication that enhances the customer experience, improves operational efficiency, and prevents fraud in contact centers.
The funding news arrives one month after the identity verification specialist inked a partnership with Americu Credit Union. The New York State-based CU added voice recognition technology to its Member Contact Center courtesy of a partnership with Illuma announced in August. Earlier this year, Illuma announced that SF Fire Credit Union was adding voice authentication technology to its call center via a collaboration between Illuma and fellow Finovate alum Glia.
Headquartered in Plano, Texas, and founded in 2016, Illuma Labs made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2019. The company most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage earlier this month at FinovateFall, winning Best of Show for its latest deepfake detection technology that helps banks fend off a new generation of AI-enabled fraudsters.
After two days of live demos from more than 65 fintech companies, the attendees of FinovateFall 2024 have made their decisions as to which of these innovators will take home Finovate’s coveted Best of Show awards. Featuring both Finovate newcomers and Finovate veterans alike, the winners of Best of Show for FinovateFall 2024 are listed below.
Bancography for its software tool that lets bankers predicate branch investments on sound market data, not intuition, preventing costly missteps and ensuring optimized investments.
CardLift for its solution that enables companies to build a co-branded browser extension for their partners that automatically finds and switches users’ card-on-file to their partners’ card.
Credit Mountain for its technology that helps organizations grow their businesses by retaining, nurturing, and cross-selling declined borrowers.
Delfi Labs for its technology that creates efficient risk management and hedging strategies in minutes, enabling clients to defend margins, enhance performance, and raise valuation.
Eko Investments for its platform that offers investments via a financial advisor to all clients–and not just the top 1%–starting from $10.
Illuma for its innovations in deepfake detection that enable community financial institutions to keep their members and customers connected with their funds in a convenient and secure manner.
Nest Bank & Efigence for their collaboration, N! Assistant, a virtual AI-powered assistant that revolutionizes finance.
Themis for its solution that enhances compliance efficiency, minimizes regulatory risk, and fosters seamless collaboration, empowering banks and fintechs to focus on growth and innovation in financial services.
Please join us in congratulating our eight, Best of Show-winning companies. Let’s also raise a glass to all of our demoing companies for their innovations in fields ranging from regtech and payments to lending, wealth management, and beyond. We are especially grateful for our attendees and sponsors, whose support continues make our Finovate conferences among the most anticipated events in our industry. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The six companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from our 2015 through 2024 conferences are below:
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall in New York on September 9 and 10. Register today using this link and save 20%.
Ascent
Ascent streamlines and simplifies any and all product applications and forms across an FI without disrupting existing systems and processes, while learning from every customer interaction.
Features
Eliminates buying a different solution to solve each product application experience or problem
Reduces abandonment
Improves cross-sell
Grows loyalty
Who’s it for?
Community banks, regional banks, credit unions, CUSOs, non-bank lenders, and insurance carriers looking to reduce the cost and complexity of delivering great experiences across the enterprise.
Finli
Finli, a certified B Corp, offers SMBs trusted and easy-to-use financial tools. The company helps FIs compete through expanded digital services that drive deposits and strengthen customer relationships.
Features
FI’s can view Finli as their SMB obsessed innovation team that offers
Real-time business health insights
Complete back office suite of digital services for SMBs
Secure digital payments
Who’s it for?
Banks and credit unions looking to drive business deposits and offer innovative digital tools to business clients.
Flextract
Flextract uses AI to extract structured data from complex financial documents, eliminating manual copy-paste and enhancing accuracy.
Features
Supports a wide variety of complex document types and layouts
Automates complex operational processes that need large teams of human analysts
Delivers structured data without workflow changes
Who’s it for?
Commercial lenders, mortgage lenders, wealth managers, and asset managers.
getAIreports.com (by Stock Unlock)
getAIreports.com (by Stock Unlock) automates report generation using AI, transforming complex data into clear insights. The company streamlines reporting processes, saving time and improving decision-making for businesses, allowing companies to focus on their core competencies.
Features
Saves time generating comprehensive reports
Closes more deals with clear, data-driven insights
Drives actionable insights with accurate AI summaries on financial data
Who’s it for?
Any businesses that generate reports.
Illuma
IllumaShield™ by Illuma streamlines caller verification with a frictionless voice biometrics authentication solution that protects against account takeovers.
Features
Improves account security and customer satisfaction
Reduces caller verification time by 85% or more
Deploys quickly with low lift from internal IT resources
Who’s it for?
Community banks, regional banks, and credit unions that need a state-of-the-art solution to prevent fraud in contact centers.
Vectari
Vectari’s software can be thought of as “compliance expertise as a service.” Their cloud-hosted subscription software services find hidden trends in customer interactions.
Features
Reduces operational costs of servicing customers due to avoidable errors
Reduces regulatory risk caused by compliance errors
Provides better oversight of third-party partners and servicers
Who’s it for?
Financial institutions of all flavors, particularly mid-size banks, BaaS and embedded finance banks, and non-bank FIs involved in loan servicing.
ZayZoon
ZayZoon’s Embedded EWA, trusted by 180+ HR and payroll companies since 2014, delivers custom end-to-end solutions that enhance offerings, attract clients, and drive new revenue.
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall in New York on September 11 and 12. Register today and save your spot.
IllumaShield Voice Authentication integrated with Glia’s Digital Customer Service platform for frictionless yet secure voice engagements.
Features
Better customer experience with frictionless account access
Improved operational efficiency by cutting minutes from each phone call
Better security with biometric voice authentication
Why it’s great
The Illuma Shield voice authentication integration with Glia improves operational efficiency, security, and customer experience for community banks and credit unions.
Presenters
Milind Borkar, Founder & CEO Borkar brings a background in R&D and more than 50 successful product launches to his role as Founder and CEO of Illuma Labs. LinkedIn
Greg Cummings, Director, Global ISV Partners Cummings has over 20 years of experience in the customer engagement space and currently serves as the Director of Global ISV Partnerships at Glia. LinkedIn
Digital customer service provider Glia is enhancing its Glia Interaction Platform with a partnership with voice authentication provider Illuma Labs. Glia has integrated Illuma’s voice authentication technology into its customer service platform to help organizations streamline voice authentication for customer service interactions.
Glia anticipates the new addition will not only prevent fraud, but also enhance the customer experience and improve operational efficiency. “Illuma Shield fits seamlessly with the Glia Interaction Platform, adding more efficiency by making voice authentication effortless,” explained Illuma CEO and Founder Milind Borkar. “Our joint customers are experiencing the real value that the Glia and Illuma partnership delivers.”
Illuma Shield is Illuma’s flagship voice biometrics product that integrates signal processing, AI, and machine learning. The technology works in the background to authenticate customers during an interaction and prevent account takeover. Meanwhile, the customer service representative doesn’t need to make unnecessary clicks or spend time on data entry during or after the call. And because the user interface shows up on the agent’s existing screen, they don’t have to open up a different window.
The Glia Interaction platform is comprised of digital, phone, and self-service customer service options. The range of solutions not only provides customers a variety of options when seeking out customer service, but it also offers end users a seamless, omni-channel experience in the event they need to change communication channels.
“Authentication, particularly for phone banking, has traditionally been cumbersome and a major source of friction,” said Glia SVP of Alliances Steve Kaish. “By verifying enrolled customers in the first few seconds of natural conversation with the Illuma Shield software, Glia quickly enables an authenticated interaction, reducing fraud and letting customers focus on their immediate need, be it an account balance, mortgage inquiry or loan origination.”
Glia was founded in 2012 as SaleMove. The New York-based company offers digital communication environments, on-screen collaboration, and AI-enabled assistance tools for clients who need to support end customers online, over the phone, in home office environments, and via video. In total, Glia has facilitated more than 10 billion customer interactions. The company has raised $152 million and counts Envestnet, Deutsche Bank, and United Healthcare among its clients. Glia has taken home 10 Finovate Best of Show awards for its live demos and most recently showcased its tools at FinovateSpring 2021.
Founded in 2016, Illuma seeks to help credit unions boost their brand reputation with a modern and seamless member experience and better security. The Texas-based company has raised $2.5 million. Illuma appeared on the FinovateSpring stage last month in San Francisco with a demo of how it brings passive voice authentication to Glia’s customer service interactions.
